THE OLD FORMULA
To this day you can probably ask some artist, radio dj, or record exec from the 1990s and they will love to reminisce on the good old days when breaking acts was so much easier. Most likely a lot of it revolved around MTV and it's ability to control the mainstream.
Let's call it "THE SILO" effect.
As cool and trendy as it wanted to be, during it's peak MTV was a mega top 40 radio station with the ability to control a listener's consumption of music and pop culture.
As if MTV was storing (silo) the talent and the minute it gave it attention/traction success would follow. I mean the examples are endless but when it was 2004-05 I could hear Coheed and Cambria's "A Favor House Atlantic" everywhere.Yet in 2002 I saw them play to like 50 people at a club in Fort Lauderdale, so I get puzzled to how all of that it suddenly happen?
And then you realize the single was release on Columbia records and they have the ability to push it through MTV, where it then lands on active/alternative radio. Then the folks who simple rely on those mediums are fans. Let's note, they are fans of that SINGLE. Hopefully they bought their record and as well as their first one The Second Stage Turbine Blade on Equal Vision.
But in this world you have passive and active music listeners, most are passive.
Now with MTV and the SILO all you needed was one hit and you can then begin a huge press tour. Do endless radio interviews/late night talk shows and hope you get traction. Eventually you get on a compilation CD/movie soundtrack that MTV would endlessly run the commercial for, remember NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC?
When you actually think about the term one hit wonder and who's responsible for it, all parties are to blame in some fashion, but it really comes down to the media and the consumer.
The media is the SILO and filters what the consumer may like or want to hear, a great example was the original Total Request Live (TRL). People were willing to let that show dictate their music interests, so it was a total challenge for artist/labels to get on the show cause results could be very rewarding.
Another example that still exists but has lost traction is performing on Saturday Night Live. The significance of being the musical guest is that a wider audience will be watching and so the potential for exposure is high. That's when you get a call from your parents asking if you listen to Billie Eilish.
However, these platforms/SILO's are now far and few. The consumer is more in control and is now likely to discover new music via social media and streaming services like Spotify.
As I mentioned in previous posts :15 minutes of fame is literally down to :15 seconds. Like people using the :15 clip of Lil Memer's "Interior Crocodile Alligator" simply to post with it on TikTok. I went on Spotify to check out the track and the line being used doesn't event come up until the end. Which in some ways is fine, TRL literally would do a countdown five days a week and maybe play two minutes of each song.
Artists will continue to put out "niche"songs that will become extremely popular through outlets like social media. Right now some rock band is making a "kitschy" out of the box track that will get some momentum and maybe make some wacky video for it that will get the attention of Jimmy Fallon.
But we no longer have the "MEGA SILO" of MTC that can build an artist's overnight success, rather it's in the hand of the consumer and the metrics/data.
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